Warwickshire Win Record Breaking BBS Cup Final!

The 2015 BBS Primary Club Heindrich Swanepoel Memorial Cup Final was both thrilling & record breaking.

On a scorching day that reached 30 degrees during the first innings at the beautiful & historic BroadHalfPenny Down in Hampshire, Warwickshire Bears faced London Metro in the 37th final of the worlds longest running annual disability cricket competition.

After losing the toss Warwickshire were sent in to bat & made a steady start as Justin Hollingsworth & Luke Sugg started to build a foundation. After ten overs Bears were 61/0 when the first drinks break was taken.

The break must have done Warwickshire good as from that moment on they scored far faster despite losing Luke Sugg for 45 to end a record breaking partnership that finished at 130, an all time BBS cup final record for any wicket. Sugg was dismissed by Gareth Jones with Matt Dean taking a good catch. Nathan Foy then shared a 52 run partnership with Hollingsworth before departing for 18 caught by keeper Rory Field off Mo Ghalib’s bowling.

The rest of the innings was totally dominated by Justin Hollingsworth as he smashed the all time cup final record individual score as Mo Ghalib sent his colleagues back to the pavilion at the other end. Firstly Ghalib had Asif Ali caught behind, then he ran out Asif’s brother Hassan before taking a catch to dismiss Eamon Preston from Amit Amin’s bowling.

Warwickshire finished with the joint highest ever cup final score of 260/5 after their 30 overs with Justin Hollingsworth contributing a mammoth 150 not out. Considering the very high scoring rate Mo Ghalib’s bowling figures of 6 overs 2 for 21 were extraordinary.

During the lunch break the teams enjoyed a talk on the history of the venue from Commander Peter Tuke of the BroadHalfPenny Down Preservation Trust.

When the match recommenced Metro started slowly until Eamon Preston came on to bowl & felt the full force of England Captain Matt Dean’s attack as Preston’s 3 overs conceded 72 runs. Mo Ghalib was dismissed for 37 with Luke Sugg taking the catch off of Nathan Foy’s bowling. This sent Hassan Khan to the middle & he shared a brilliant 113 run partnership with Dean before being bowled by Luke Sugg with the score at 194/2.

* * * * *The RecordsHighest Partnership: Justin Hollingsworth & Luke Sugg shared 130 for Warwickshire’s first wicket.Highest Team Score: 260/5 Warwickshire took the record after tying the previous best but losing fewer wickets than the former record holders.Highest Individual Score: Justin Hollingsworth 150 not out, Matt Dean also beat the previous record a couple of hours later with 133.* * * * *